Jewish Farmer Convicted of Beating Arab , Denies Being There

The family of Tzvi Struck, a Jew from Samaria, says his conviction for attacking a PA Arab is part of a conspiracy.

By Maayana Miskin

First Publish: 11/21/2010, 6:10 PM / Last Update: 11/21/2010, 7:19 PM

Israel news photo

Tzvi Struck, a Jewish farmer from Samaria, has been convicted in the beating of a Palestinian Authority Arab teenager three years ago. A Jerusalem judge found Struck guilty of kidnapping and beating Amran Farah, then 15.

Struck denies the charges, and says that not only did he not hit Farah, but he was not even present at the scene of the alleged attack. He plans to appeal the conviction.

Struck, who lives in Shiloh, is the son of Orit Struck, who heads the Judea and Samaria Human Rights Organization. The charges against him were filed by Yesh Din, an Israeli organization on the far left of the political spectrum.

Justice Amnon Cohen ruled against Struck despite noting in his verdict that the testimony given by PA witnesses was contradictory. The witnesses provided the only evidence that Struck was at fault for Farah's injuries.

Orit Struck spoke to Arutz Sheva on Saturday night and said the charges against her son were completely false. “This isn't just libel, it's a conspiracy,” she declared. She described her son as "a family man with three children."

Tzvi Strook fell victim to a conspiracy because of his success, she continued. He has been successful as a farmer, and has helped other Jewish farmers in the region as well, she said. PA Arabs have targeted Strook in particular in the past, she noted, singling out his farm for arson attacks and vandalism.

She expressed determination to continue fighting the charges. “The conspiracy succeeded in this round, but we aren't planning to give up. There's a long legal battle ahead of us,” she said. There have been many past cases in which Arab victims of internal PA violence accused Jews of having attacked them, but the truth later came to light, she said.

Orit Struck declined to speculate as to whether her work in the Judea and Samaria Human Rights Organization played a part in the decision to target her son, but added, “I don't doubt that my name stirs up strong motivation.”